


Vignettes of Future Past

by Nightbunny



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 06:42:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12625389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightbunny/pseuds/Nightbunny
Summary: When Anakin, Obi-wan and their commando team of clones disappear on the way to the Citadel after freezing themselves in carbonite, Ahsoka is left to pick up the pieces. A series of vignettes detailing how events play out.Tags will be updated as the story progresses.





	Vignettes of Future Past

The Council waits three standard weeks after Anakin, Obi-wan and their team disappear on their way to the Citadel to declare them missing in action, presumed dead. The idea that they were caught by the Separatists is bandied about and ultimately discarded - if they'd been captured the Confederacy would have paraded its victory over the Holonet, and no such spectacle ever comes. Master Windu posits that they hit an unknown mass shadow in hyperspace and were killed in the collision.

Ahsoka does not believe it. She _cannot_ believe it. She knows down to her bones if her Master had been killed she would have felt it. Where there would be a hole in her heart and a broken Force bond there is just... a shadow. It is a salve to know that Yoda agrees with her feelings. He insists that if Knight Skywalker were dead it would create a disturbance in the Force they _all_ would feel. His resolve and the blow such news would deal to Republic morale are the only reasons Anakin and Obi-wan are never officially put on the rolls of the dead.

However, because of this, Ahsoka alone is left to quietly seek out Padme and let her know the truth behind the Council's silence on Anakin's long absence. The Senator is drawn and pale when she arrives, and for a moment Ahsoka wonders if somehow Padme already knows. But then she watches as the Senator's regal bearing cracks and trembles, and her eyes shine with unshed tears even as she smiles and thanks Ahsoka for telling her.

There is a terrible aching pain blossoming in the empty-feeling place in her chest. It's not sharp but heavy and drawn out, like her heart is slowly being carved into with a dull knife built of fear and doubt, and in that moment Ahsoka knows it is not her own. She doesn't know how Padme can stand there, stiffened muscles already relaxing into a diplomat's graceful poise and polite expression pasted onto delicate features, when she _feels_ like _this_ inside.

Ahsoka can't stand it a moment longer - she throws herself into her friend's surprised embrace, furiously insisting to her that he's not dead, he's _not_ , because she would _know_. Padme's arms tighten around her, and her voice hardens into durasteel as she agrees, _believes_ , echoing Ahsoka that Anakin _would_ be back, with all the conviction of an incontrovertible truth. Ahsoka thinks she can almost feel Padme's Force Presence brighten and grow, wrapping around her, each drawing strength from the other. She had gone to Padme's apartments to give her the news and assure her that her Master still lives, but leaves feeling bolstered by the Senator's strength and unshakeable faith.

She still has to face the facts: they do not know when or where the ship carrying the strike team had disappeared on its mission and they cannot spare the resources to search the millions of lightyears of space along the route they had taken. Her Master and Grandmaster are not dead, but they are _gone_ and the end result is the same. There is no one to teach Ahsoka, no one to lead their men, and the Council has already waited far too long for them to reappear. Three weeks is an eternity in this war.

Ahsoka does not know what will be done with her, and even Padme cannot help her here. She is a Commander with no General, an Apprentice with no Master, left adrift and listless without purpose. She visits the 501st on Coruscant, needing the sense of safety and solidarity that encapsulates her when she is with the _vod'e_ , and heads for one section in particular. She cared for all of the 501st, but Torrent Company were _her_ boys.

The atmosphere in the barracks is one of uncertainty. The long leave from battle both a welcome relief and a growing concern. Her boys are uneasy and Ahsoka is struck with guilt at leaving them on their own for so long. They haven't heard from their Captain or General in weeks, and Ahsoka has been stuck in the temple doing makework while the Council decides what to do with her. It must have felt like their entire leadership had up and left them.

She does her best to allay their concerns, fielding questions while frantically wracking her brain for exactly where to draw the line without divulging Council secrets.

"Is- is the General...dead?" One shaky voice finally asks; He's new enough Ahsoka hasn't had a chance to learn his name, and yet already a black teardrop decorates one cheek. He's elbowed by his squadmate, but a hush still sweeps through the group as all of them turn to look toward her, concern naked on their faces.

"He's _not_ dead," Ahsoka says sharply, the _vod'e_ around her flinching and trading glances. She can feel how tense they are, their collective anxiety choking the air as she breaths in.

She breaths out and repeats more softly, "He's not. I would know if he was." She pauses, struggling to find a way to explain the metaphysical to men trained to understand the galaxy in very duracrete terms, decides kriff it _they've rolled with it so far_ , and continues, "Jedi Masters and Padawans share a connection, a bond, through the Force. Basically, it lets us know sort of how the other is doing. The bond is only broken when the Padawan is knighted or the master dies, and our bond isn't broken. It's just...quiet right now."

"How can you be sure?" Kix asks, voice doubtful but the look on his face silently begging her for reassurance.

"It's not the first time our bond has gone quiet - there have been times when General Skywalker needed to, I guess, _dim_ his Force presence, so darksiders like Ventress or Dooku won't sense him. This is just taking longer is all."

Jesse's eyes narrow suddenly in understanding. "He's on Jedi comm. silence," he states.

"Exactly," Ahsoka agrees in relief, as the feeling of oppressive fear in the barracks is slowly replaced with cautious optimism.

"Who's going to lead us until the General gets back, then?" Hardcase asks guilelessly.

Ahsoka hesitates, uncertain what to tell him when even she had no inkling of the Council's plans on that front. "I'll see what I can do," She promises them instead.

Returning from her excursion with a boldness born of desperation and seeing no viable alternative, she ventures to suggest to the Council that perhaps _she_ be given command of the 501st in her Master's absence. She argues that given her experience and familiarity with the battalion she was the natural choice to take his place in the interim - but the idea is shot down as fast as she offers it. She's just too young. They cannot hand over command of an entire battalion to a 16-year-old Padawan without a Master, even temporarily.

Ahsoka is left dejected and guilt-ridden. _What will happen to her and her boys?_

It is Master Plo Koon who volunteers to take her on and complete her training, _just_ until Master Skywalker returns - a caveat that soothes the wound of his absence and brings a strained smile to her lips. Of course Anakin will come back soon, of _course_ he will. If nothing else, he'd be there to knight her. Anakin wouldn't miss that for the galaxy. She hasn't been abandoned - Padme said so. In the meantime, she is to join Master Plo and the Wolfpack as his subordinate Jedi Commander.

The decisions are made and Master Plo informs her that the Council has chosen to assign the 212th to General Fisto, while the 501st is to be given to General Krell.

Ahsoka knows Master Fisto had not wanted to be put in a permanent position and prefers to float between battalions. He fears the worst having so many lives in his hands, but she thinks that will make him a cautious and canny General for Obi-Wan's men. He picks and promotes Captain Gregor as his Commander for the duration, and the two seem to get on well.

She is not familiar with General Krell, and is unnerved by Master Plo's hesitation when he tells her. When she asks she is informed General Krell is known for completing his missions quickly and despite the odds arrayed against him. Ahsoka hopes that means he's like Anakin and is the type to come up with the kind of crazy plans that still work in spite and even because of their unusual and unpredictable tactics. She hopes that Anakin and Obi-wan will swoop back in to retake their positions with clones in-tow, needling eachother and chastising her for ever worrying in the first place. She hopes her boys will be okay.

Ahsoka hopes, because there is nothing else left she can do.

She has a bad feeling about this.

**Author's Note:**

> I update randomly and infrequently. Reviews help.


End file.
